WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy released a statement on Friday after the U.S. Department of Justice indicted thirteen Russians and three Russian entities for crimes committed in pursuit of disrupting the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. According to the indictment, the defendants engaged in “information warfare” during the campaign to “spread distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general.”

“These indictments are jarring. Russia spent a lot of time and money trying to elect Donald Trump, and we’re just starting to understand all that went into it. What’s particularly alarming is that these Russians didn’t just run social media accounts or hack into emails, they staged political rallies and paid Americans to do Putin’s dirty work in our backyard,” said Murphy. “A hostile foreign government going to such lengths to install its preferred candidate in the White House sounds like a bad Hollywood script, but it’s very real. Only the perpetrators know the extent of the activity involved, but it’s apparent that any American citizen who knowingly helped them get their way is guilty of serious crimes against their country. Every American should want to find out the facts here, no matter where they lead.”